Variable crown rolls which require no roll bending apparatus comprise an arbor with a sleeve shrunk thereon together with means for introducing hydraulic fluid under pressure between arbor and sleeve to inflate the roll so as to bow or crown the sleeve. An example is the roll of Noe, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,617 of July 29, 1969. An improved roll of that type is disclosed in Eibe U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,096 of Dec. 13, 1977. Rolls of that type are costly to build. They also have inherent stress limitations because in some areas the high shrinkage stresses are compounded by additional inflation stresses. The shape of the cavity between the sleeve and the arbor is sometimes contoured to produce a more desirable crown profile. This contouring usually increases the oil volume which makes the roll "soft" or "spongy", to use the terminology of rolling mill operators. Rolls of that type must be manufactured largely, if not entirely, from forgings, the sleeve being shrunk on the arbor to fit tightly on each neck while leaving a cavity therebetween. It would be considerably more economical to make such a roll from a casting or castings, and it is the principal object of my invention to provide such a roll and a process for its manufacture.